My African Violets

My African Violets are looking just awesome right now.  I thought I’d take some pictures and show them off.

This is my favorite by far.  A little over a year ago Kayla bought this for me at the Camp Courageous Garage Sale in Manchester, Iowa.  It’s really a thrift store and only open spring through fall.  When she brought it to me I had little hope for it.  It was in a Styrofoam cup with regular dirt and little rough looking from lack of water.  I transplanted it within a day and hoped for the best.

The picture doesn’t do this beauty justice at all.  It is so lush and full!!

Well it went from yuck to WOW really fast.  It blooms really often and the leaves on this are absolutely amazing.  There and many leaves and they blooms form under and the leaves and are so full that they push the leaves up.  It’s gorgeous.

I like variegated African Violets too.  Last year when I ordered a few online I was hopeful that these would make it and they have done marvelous.  This one in my kitchen window is ready to bloom for the first time.

This pretty purple one is blooming now.  It only has a simple single purple flower.

When I used to buy violets I based my purchases on the bloom color or fullness.  I don’t do that anymore.  Yes I consider that but most important to me is the organization of leaves and how the leaves look….after all, the plants aren’t blooming ALL the time but they do have leaves all the time.

This is another variegated one…purple too.  The bloom is a little prettier but I don’t like the organization of the leaves as well.

This one was gorgeous but had a little set back in the last repotting episode.  It is coming back though.  I can’t remember the color this one blooms.  I guess I’ll have to wait and be surprised all over again.

This next one is just getting ready to bloom.  It’s the first time it’s blooming for me.

All of the variegated violets that I’ve shown came from ebay last year at this time.  Kayla and I had ordered some together for a treat for me for Mother’s Day.  They are doing so good.  Most have bloomed a couple times already.

As nice as those more expensive ones are, don’t underestimate the beauty of a Wal-Mart African Violet.  This one is from Wal-Mart.

This one Kelli got me last year for Mother’s Day.  There were actually two plants in one pot.  I split them and have two exactly the same and both are blooming now.

All of my plants are only a year or year and a half old.  They will fill out and be looking better each season.

The baby violets in the my kitchen window are doing really good.  Hubby and I couldn’t be more impressed with how they took off once we put the plants in the window.

Oh…I’m propagating violets too.  See the little sprouts coming at the base of the leaf on the right?  That’s baby violets.

I already have this whole plate of leaves that were propagated and need to get moved into their own little containers.  These are all from the first plant I showed that I love.

I so adore violets.  I really don’t have room for them all but I’ll still be picking up a new plant from time to time.

People always ask what I do for lighting.  Typically east and west window are best but I have limit windows that face that direction.  I do have more south windows.  My south windows have the shade of the neighbor’s tree so I think that makes the south sunlight more tolerable.

I will admit that last time I wrote about African Violets a blog reader sent a link to a place called The Violet Barn.  I’ve been over there looking a time or two.  I’d like to find a Violet that is reddish.  I’m just afraid that once I click to buy one, I’ll suddenly have seven in the cart!!